The Authenticity of the Bible

Christopher gave an excellent message this morning about the Resurrection, but we wanted to share with you an illustration Christopher shared, which proved, once again, the authenticity of the Bible. First, let me share several verses with you.

“And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it” (Matthew 28:2).

“And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted” (Mark 16:5).

“And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?” (Luke 24:4-5)

“But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain” (John 20:11-12).

Depending on how carefully you read those verses, you might notice some details that weren’t the same. Matthew says “the angel of the Lord,” Mark says, “a young man,” Luke says “two men … shining garments,” and John, “two angels in white.” How could they be seemingly contradicting?

Now, for the illustration. Our Families for Jesus Fellowship meets in the dining room of a nursing home. Today, as Christopher was sharing, on cue, Joseph and John disappeared into the kitchen. Soon, a clanking was heard, and John rolled up the metal “blind” between the kitchen and dining room, and John’s voice was heard, “Hello folks, I just wanted to tell you that Jesus Christ rose from the dead,” while Joseph stood next to him. The blind was put back down.

Christopher shared that if several people were to recount what had happened, you would hear different details. One might say, “A young man told us that Jesus rose from the dead,” or another might say, “There were two young men, and one of them told us about Jesus rising from the dead,” or, “The tall guy was telling us about the Lord who rose from the dead.” See how this just proves, once again, the authenticity of the Bible? You’re not going to have four different people telling what happened the exact same way. Depending on who told the story, they might just mention John, and not Joseph, since he didn’t say or do anything except to stand near John. Christopher’s illustration perfectly demonstrated the the authenticity of Scripture, and his message was a perfect for Resurrection Sunday.

He is Risen, Alleluia! What joy we have as we celebrate our risen Savior. The world tries to make it into a “bunny hunt and eggs” holiday, but that’s not it. If only they knew what they’re missing.

Sarah

“This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen” (John 21:24-25).

It makes absolute sense that several people from different personal backgrounds would consider some details significant and others unimportant. This in no way undermines the veracity of scripture. The metal rolling door was a clever way to illustrate your point. Well done, Christopher.